Australians must love Windows 7. They had to call in security at the Harvey Norman store in Syndey, Australia during its "Midnight Madness" event selling some of the first retail copies of Windows 7 in the world.

Completely at ease. Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows & Windows Live Division, with a ceremonial sake barrel at the Windows 7 launch with OEM partners and customers in Japan.

Shoppers lined up to purchase Windows 7 in London at midnight. No umbrellas here, Kiwis! Pre-orders for the new operating system on Amazon UK surpassed pre-orders for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm sure the Potter fans looked a lot happier, though. (They didn't have to queue up outside a PC World store, getting ribbed by Mac fans on way home from the Apple Store.)